Think you know everything about 2017's Oscar best picture nominees? We'll take that challenge. From Moonlight to Manchester by the Sea, we've got trivia and tidbits about the making of all nine films — straight from their stars.

The Oscars are Sunday (ABC, 7 p.m. ET/4 PT).

Naomie Harris shot her Oscar-nominated role for 'Moonlight' in just three days.

Talk about time management: Harris had a three-day break from promoting her James Bond film Spectre (she plays Moneypenny) to shoot Moonlight. That meant setting aside red carpets and designer gowns to get into the mindset of a crack addict. "They took me straight from the airport to set," she recalls. "I didn’t realize I was going to be wearing these tiny little shorts — my first scene was deep crack addiction, so obviously she doesn’t (care) what she’s wearing. That’s when I got a little scared. I was like, 'Oh, my gosh, I’m really going to have to go for this.' "

'La La Land' originally opened in a different way.(Photo: Dale Robinette)

The first scene of 'La La Land' morphed from the script.

Director Damien Chazelle's modern musical didn't always start as a cold open with that highway dance number, Another Day of Sun. Originally, "there was pre-intro stuff," he says, including opening credits set to an overture. He'd also intended to begin with Ryan Gosling's and Emma Stone's characters in their cars before launching into the number. "When we got into the edit, it wasn’t working," says Chazelle, who restructured the number. Another late decision, "almost down to the wire, was putting the title card right at the end of that number" instead of the beginning. Now, the way La La Land's yellowtitle appears just as doors slam on the ramp is regarded as a signature start.

Casey Affleck (left) and Lucas Hedges star in the drama 'Manchester by the Sea.'(Photo: Claire Folger)

Lucas Hedges got his intense 'Manchester by the Sea' performance by keeping his mouth shut.

To film a scene in which Hedges' teenage character has an emotional breakdown after the death of his father (Kyle Chandler), the Oscar-nominated star spent the entire day in silence. By the time cameras rolled, his need to communicate would be greater than any fear of getting it wrong — a piece of advice given to him by his mentor, Mary-Louise Parker. "The result was a buildup inside of me," Hedges says. "I took a risk and the dam came crashing down."

The circular patterns originated in Eric Heisserer's early drafts of the screenplay. “I drew something for my wife (TV writer/producer Christine Boylan) to show her what I was thinking of, to see if I could get her to come up with a different metaphor, and her decision was 'Just put that in the script,' ” he says. "The idea that blotches were where the words and phrases were nested" was refined in the inky moving masses designed by artist Martine Bertrand.

Playing unsung NASA math hero Katherine Johnson meant Henson was always decked out in retro 1960s attire. But that also included wearing the throwback underwear of the era, including corsets and girdles. “That snatches you into a perfect stature. You have no choice,” Henson laughs. “Women back then carried themselves not as loosely as the women do today because they were strapped down and pinned down.”

For 'Lion,' Dev Patel filmed Saroo Brierley's amazing return to his childhood home in India before scenes in which his character began his search.(Photo: Mark Rogers, AP)

Dev Patel shot the moving ending of 'Lion' first.

Patel dove into the emotional deep end on Lion, shooting the tear-jerking finale of Saroo Brierley's true story first. Actual villagers appear in the scene where Saroo returns to India, erupting with the same joy with which they had greeted Brierley. "The villagers were just reacting off the energy we created," says Patel, who plays an adoptee who searches for his birth family with the help of Google Earth technology. "It was one of those rare moments where you are completely lost in something."

Jeff Bridges learned from a legendary Texas Ranger for 'Hell or High Water.'

Bridges got real-life guidance in prepping for his Oscar-nominated role. The actor worked closely with Texas Ranger Joaquin Jackson, who wrote his memoir One Ranger in 2005 and died in 2016, just before the film's release. Bridges calls Jackson "one of the greatest Texas Rangers ever" and modeled his Marcus after him, from his walk to his demeanor. "He'd make little adjustments, too, right down to where the badge is placed over the left pocket."

Things got real for Andrew Garfield on the set of 'Hacksaw Ridge.'(Photo: Mark Rogers, AP)

Mel Gibson relied on great rat performances in 'Hacksaw Ridge.'

Even fake war is hell: The director didn't skimp on the terrible realities of World War II battlefields, including the rats. There was a stuntman whose job it was to lay in dirty water and have rats crawl on his face as he pretended to be dead. "He's the real hero of (filming) the Desmond Doss story," says star Andrew Garfield. Unexpected problem: The rats ended up eating the maggots. "They were slurping them up. You put the rats and maggots on what seems to be a decaying corpse and off they go," Gibson says.

Another fun fact: Both Denzel Washington and Viola Davis won Tony Awards for their starring roles in 'Fences' on Broadway.(Photo: David Lee, Paramount Pictures)

August Wilson made a spiritual cameo appearance in 'Fences.'

Director and star Denzel Washington firmly believes that Fences playwright (who died in 2005) quietly appeared in the movie adaptation. While shooting the emotional ending, the yard's gate unexpectedly swung shut. "I just felt, 'Wow!' People were like, 'Did you put a string on it?' " Washington says. "No, it was just August wanting to be here."